Up to 762,000 people across the UK are providing unpaid care for someone living with a terminal illness every year, a report from the University of Sheffield and Marie Curie estimates.
The new report also reveals 13-15 per cent of end of life carers who live with the person they are caring for (at least 22,500) are believed to be living below the poverty line.
Alarmingly, this number sharply increases in the year following a bereavement (to 22 per cent-32 per cent, depending on the measure of poverty used) with funeral poverty, loss of benefits and pensions, housing insecurity and impacts on employment being considered as contributing factors.
The research was carried out by the University of Sheffield, University of Leeds and Loughborough University and provides the first ever UK population level estimate of the number of end of life carers.
Professor Clare Gardiner, Professor of Palliative Care at the University of Sheffield, said:
“This research reinforces the hugely important role that unpaid carers play in supporting those at the end of life. And, whilst we have always known that caring has financial consequences, this is the first time that research has shown this financial burden persists into bereavement, pushing many carers into poverty at a time when they are already facing the significant challenges of grief and bereavement.”
According to the report, the negative impacts on unpaid, end of life carers are overwhelming. Caring for someone at the end of life can harm a caregiver’s physical and mental wellbeing, and deal them with financial burden, as they may be forced to take unpaid leave, change jobs, or leave work entirely to cope with the demands of caring.
Marie Curie is urging the UK Government to extend Carers Allowance entitlement, from two months to six months after a bereavement. The charity is also calling on the UK Government to use its Employment Rights Bill to introduce a new statutory right to paid Carers Leave, to help unpaid carers balance their caring and employment responsibilities.
Additionally, Marie Curie is also proposing a State Pension-level of income guarantee for working-age people living with a terminal illness, to provide better financial support for them and their household at the end of life.
Dr Sam Royston, Executive Director for Research and Policy at Marie Curie, said: “This report highlights the harsh reality of those who give up so much to care for the people they love at the end of their lives. Not only does evidence consistently show that the presence of an unpaid carer leads to better experiences for people at the end of life, it also reduces costs and pressures on wider health and care services.”
